The Good Nearby [Paperback]

Nancy Moser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

Sometimes good things are nearer than expected. Margery has a nothing job, a nothing marriage, and zero self-esteem. Angie has everything she could ever want, except a life of her own making. Talia is overwhelmed by her pregnancy, by handling her career, and by caring for her toddler and a home-bound husband who needs a new heart. Gennifer has a high-powered career and a family that's learned to fend without her. Gladys has never been married and approaches her golden years alone with failing eyesight. For the patrons of Neighbor's Drugstore, the key to a rich, fulfilled life is closer than they think, if only they can open their hearts to the good nearby.

Editorial Reviews

Review

: "Margery has two desires in life; she wants to be considered a loving equal by her spouse and she desperately wants a child. Angie loves her spouse, but his obsessive need to control her every action is driving her crazy; she just wants his love and trust. Gladys has been so independent and strong, no one has ever gotten close to her; now she is going blind and fears the darkness, her lost freedom, and no one to love her. Gennifer is so ashamed of her health problem she cannot tell her loved ones what ails her; instead her behavior is driving her spouse to another woman and her daughter seeking solace elsewhere. A bone weary Talia feels like Job had it made as her husband is dying unless he obtains a heart transplant; she needs to be there for him and their baby while also bringing in money and by the way is pregnant. Gigi feels all alone since the only person who loved her, Grammy died years ago; she ponders about being with the Lord and her Grammy as death seems her only salvation unless she learns her Grammy's message that all lives are sacred to the Lord who is always THE GOOD NEARBY. The beauty of this terific inspirational tale is in spite of the woes facing this ensemble crew, the story line never turns maudlin or soap operish although Nancy Moser goes deep into the fragile psyche of her female cast. Each of the key six characters are unique and fully developed so that even with so many players (including extended family members), the audience knows who's who. The message summarized by Grammy (when she was alive) to her beloved granddaughter is even in the darkest moment God is the GOOD NEARBY to help you." -- Harriet Klausner, September 22, 2006

Starred Review. The tribulations of five women and a lonely little girl named Gigi are narrated in alternating stories of lost loves, health crises, and broken spirits. Margery is trapped in an abusive marriage; Talia watches her husband grow weaker as he awaits a heart transplant; Angie needs more in life than her husband's cold disinterest; Gladys is losing her eyesight; and Gennifer is keeping a fatal secret from her family. Even though the plot is somewhat predictable, it is still worth the journey. Christy Award winner Moser (Time Lottery) has created haunting, full-bodied characters, some who look for God's hand in their lives and others who try to muddle through on their own. Her bittersweet novel will appeal to readers of Ann Tatlock (I'll Watch the Moon) or Linda Nichols (If I Gained the World). Highly recommended. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -- Library Journal

The Good Nearby is a wonderful heart warming book that makes you believe there is good nearby if we only open are eyes and our hearts. Nancy Moser has created very believable characters, she shows how one person can touch so many lives. The Good Nearby makes you appreciate the things you have, and to accept that there are good people in this world. The Good Nearby brought such warmth to my heart. This is one book that I will re-read over and over. This is a feel good book you don't want to miss. -- Theromancereadersconnection.com, Gloria Gehres

The pages of The Good Nearby by Nancy Moser are filled with conflict and intriguing characters. Margery wants to be treated with respect and loved by her husband, but her greatest longing is to have a child. She believes that is what she was born to do. Angie wants to be unconditionally loved by her husband, whose need to control her at times is suffocating and maddening. She longs for peace, and to be free to make her own choices. Gladys is losing her sight. She desperately needs to give and receive love, but she has always been strong and self-sufficient. For her, to soften and let someone into her heart is perceived as weak, something she refuses to be.

Gennifer is a successful attorney with a health condition so shameful to her that she won't even tell her husband or daughter. Her emotional withdrawal pushes her husband toward another woman, and her daughter toward a female mentor, thus sending Gennifer's core relationships into a crisis mode. But for Gennifer to admit her need for support is too painful, so she holds back and suffers alone, until God grabs a hold of her heart. Talia's husband is going to die if he doesn't get a heart transplant. So not only does Talia have to take care of her two-year-old and her husband, but she has to keep the house in order, cook, work full-time to pay the bills, and to top all that, she's seven months pregnant. She longs for rest, to feel desired and wanted. Her boss distracts her when he pays her the kind of attention her husband used to lavish on her. She longs for her Christian husband to be well, to take back control of the finances, and to have a love life again. But she refuses to ask God to help her until she feels him slipping away.

And finally there is Gigi, the lost and abandoned child who is a very quirky character. Readers see the story through her eyes, and I loved her. She's obsessed with the number 96 and thinks anything connected with that number is lucky. She also is enthralled with the idea of death because her grandmother, who taught her about faith, said she looked forward to dying in order to be with the Lord. Gigi is told by her grandmother before her death that Gigi will be the good nearby if she lets God work in her life. As Gigi grows up, she struggles to survive emotionally, and forgets some of the things she learned as a young girl from her grandmother, the only person who had genuinely loved her. God brings those memories back as she goes through hard times. He redeems her pain for His glory.

The Good Nearby moved me to tears. Of joy, that is. It's a poignant illustration of how God takes our pain and makes beauty from the ashes of our lives. The author beautifully illustrates her characters' struggles in a way that makes you want to encourage them rather than slap them senseless. You see their history and exactly what led them to the place they were at in life. You also see what had to happen in their lives for God to reach their hearts. And of course, not everyone is reached. But that's real life. - Michelle Sutton, Christian Book Previews.com -- Christian Book Previews

From the Author

Dear Readers: Whose life counts? Whose life doesn't? That was the question that spurred The Good Nearby. How many people do we see every day, but not see? Not notice? And yet their lives may have more impact on the world than our own. Not because of the big things they do, but because of the good things they do, and the good people they are. What about the lady at the bus stop who makes a point of asking about our kids? Or the jolly elderly man in the drive-through window of the burger joint who makes us forget the line was long? Or the stock-boy who helps us find our favorite brand of kitty litter at the grocery store and asks the name of our cat? How do they spend their time? What do they care about? What do they worry about? What is God's plan for their lives? What is God's plan for yours? We have a tendency to think life doesn't count for much unless we do something big and flashy. Yet little bits of good add up to changed attitudes and changed lives. If we notice. If we allow ourselves to really see others, recognize the potential within ourselves, and acknowledge all sparks of specialness. We need to see the good nearby, and be the good nearby. That is my challenge to you. So go. Change the world. One little bit of good at a time.

Nancy Moser

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414301626
• ISBN-13: 978-1414301624
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,087,932 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nancy Moser is the award-winning author of over twenty novels that focus on the characters discovering their unique purpose. Her genres include both contemporary and historical stories. Her latest release "An Unlikely Suitor" was named to Booklist's "Top 10 Romance Novels of 2011". Both "An Unlikely Suitor" and "Masquerade" are set in the Gilded Age of New York City (see a book trailer for "Masquerade" below.) Coming out in 2012 is a Christmas/Quilt antholgy,"A Patchwork Christmas", containing three novellas by Moser, Stephanie Grace Whitson, and Judith Miller. Moser's contemporary books are known for their big-cast utilization of multiple points-of-view and intricate plotting. Some titles are "John 3: 16", "The Sister Circle", "The Good Nearby", and "The Invitation." Her historical bio-novels allow real women-of-history to share their life stories: "Just Jane" (Jane Austen), "Mozart's Sister" (Nannerl Mozart), "Washington's Lady" (Martha Washington) and "How Do I Love Thee?" (Elizabeth Barrett Browning.) Her time-travel novel, "Time Lottery", won a Christy Award and "Washington's Lady" was a finalist. Nancy and her husband Mark live in the Midwest. She's earned a degree in architecture, traveled extensively in Europe, and has performed in numerous theaters, symphonies, and choirs. She gives Said So Sister Seminars around the country, helping women identify their gifts as they celebrate their sisterhood. She paints canes voraciously, kills all her houseplants, and can wire an electrical fixture without getting shocked. She is a fan of anything antique--humans included. Find out more at www.nancymoser.com, www.sistercircles.com. and her historical fiction blog at: http://footnotesfromhistory.blogspot.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, emotionally gripping story., October 13, 2006

By 

Michelle Sutton (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Good Nearby (Paperback)

A shorter version of this review was first posted on Christian Book Previews site.

The Good Nearby is loaded with conflict and intriguing characters. Margery wants to be treated with respect and loved by her husband. But her greatest longing is to have a child. She believes that is her purpose in life--what she was born to do. Angie wants to be unconditionally loved by her husband, whose need to control her at times is suffocating and maddening. She longs for peace. To be free to make her own choices. Gladys is losing her sight. She desperately needs to give and receive love, but she has always been strong and self-sufficient. For her, to soften and let someone into her heart is perceived as weak, something she refuses to be.

Gennifer is a successful attorney with a health condition so shameful to her that she won't even tell her husband or daughter. Her emotional withdrawal pushes her husband toward another woman, and her daughter toward a female mentor, thus sending Gennifer's core relationships into a crisis mode. But for Gennifer to admit her need for support is too painful, so she holds back and suffers alone, until God grabs ahold of her heart.

Talia's husband is going to die if he doesn't get a heart transplant. So not only does Talia have to take care of her two-year-old and her husband, but she has to keep the house in order, cook, work full-time to pay the bills, and to top all that...she's seven months pregnant. She longs for rest; to feel desired and wanted. Her boss distracts her when he pays her the kind of attention her husband used to lavish on her. She longs for her Christian husband to be well, to take back control of the finances, and to have a love life again. But she refuses to ask God to help her until she feels him slipping away.

And finally there is Gigi, the lost and abandoned child who is a very quirky character--and I loved her. She's obsessed with the number 96 and thinks anything connected with that number is lucky. She also is entralled with the idea of death because her grandmother tought her about faith, and her grandmother said she looked forward to dying because she would be with the Lord. Gigi is told by her grandmother before her death that Gigi will be the good nearby if she lets God work in her life. As Gigi grows up she struggles to survive emotionally, and forgets some of the things she learned as a young girl from her grandmother, the only person who had genuinely loved her. God brings those memories back as she goes through hard times. He redeems her pain for His glory.

The Good Nearby moved me to tears...of joy. It's the most fantastic redemption story I've ever read besides the Bible. It's also the best illustration I've seen of how God takes our pain and makes beauty from the ashes of our lives. Gigi's character is written in the first person. The reader sees the world through Gigi's eyes. The other characters are written in the third person so you know what they are thinking, but the way it's done is so amazing and powerful that it's hard to explain.

Experiencing The Good Nearby is like examining a tapestry from the back side. You see some attractive places, but you also find a lot of knots and stuff that doesn't resemble anything upon close examination. Just like the lives of the characters in this story. They are real, messed up people whom I could identify with. Not everyone is strong. In fact, many of us are dysfunctional and weak at times. The author beautifully illustrates their struggles in a way that makes you want to encourage them rather than slap them senseless. You see their history and exactly what led them to the place they were at in life. You also see what "had" to happen in their lives for God to reach their hearts. And of course, not everyone is reached. But that's real life.

As mentioned above, The Good Nearby is like examining a tapestry from the wrong side. Only at the end of the story the author flips it around and you see the beautiful work that God created as He moved in the characters' lives. For me, the experience was breathtaking. I found it absolutely amazing how the author transformed things at the end of the story. I'm convinced that God's hand is in this story. And just when I thought the loose ends came together with perfection, the author entwined a few more.

As a social worker I've seen miracles like this happen in real life, so none of it seemed contrived or unrealistic to me. In fact, this story blessed me so much I felt like I was coming out of my skin when I finished. I found it very difficult to explain to others, however, because there are so many characters with different problems that my listeners got lost in the details. So I just told people, "You just have to read the book. It'll change the way you see things and your heart will be forever changed." As I'm typing this review my eyes are filling with tears because I can feel the Holy Spirit moving. I give The Good Nearby my highest recommendation.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best fiction I've read in a long time, January 3, 2008

By 

Teresa Slack "Fiction Author" (http://www.teresaslack.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Good Nearby (Paperback)

Every year at the Intl. Booksellers Convention my husband goes around picking up books by every author he chances to meet. THE GOOD NEARBY is one he brought home this year from Atlanta. I have a hard time shutting off my inner editor when reading and am especially harsh with Christian fiction. I am happy to say THE GOOD NEARBY is one of the best I've read in three years of collecting books at these conventions.

Ms. Moser allowed me to get lost in the lives of her characters. How refreshing. Every time I closed the book, I couldn't wait until the next opportunity to get back to it.

This is the first book by Nancy Moser I've read, but believe me, it won't be the last. Her characters are real and endearing, sometimes maddening, just like real people. Thank you, Ms. Moser for an excellent read. Very highly recommended

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top of the line, September 29, 2007

By 

C. Hodde "Hannah Alexander" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Good Nearby (Paperback)

Nancy Moser has illustrated a superior ability to weave the insights of several in-depth characters into one very compelling story. She shows the trials and triumphs of life with honesty and compassion, and has a way of making the reader care about these characters without gratuitous manipulation of our emotions. In other words, she has written a heart-wrenching story without being sappy. An excellent read!